Final Goodbye
by preety-lady-serenity
Summary: Sometimes you have to let the one you love go and savour his final goodbye.


Final Goodbye – by preety-lady-serenity

**DISCLAIMER:** I can announce in certainty that the character belong to J. K. Rowling and not me. Now go eat something nutritious like chocolate.

**_The fic is dedicated to Makani, an excellent Malfoy fanart artist. It was her work that inspired this fic and I thank her a lot._**

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The woman sat on the armchair that usually her husband sat. She looked at the blazes that danced happily unaware of her despair. Her white face was tear-stricken. Hours ago she had learnt the news that was the cause of her misery. Narcissa Malfoy had cried since she had heard them, and remained at that position wondering how that could be true. 

Lucius, her Lucius, was killed when the Death Eaters raided Azkaban, trying to free its prisoners. Her Lucius was killed by the Aurors, even though he was wandless. She had wept in rage. How could they kill him when he was unarmed? How dare Bella hide the upcoming raid from her? She could have gone there! She could have prevented it! She let a howl and hid her face in the small cushion she held.

"Cissa."

She stopped immediately and looked up in shock. She had heard his voice. It was a mistake! He had not been killed. It was a lie. He had escaped. She turned her head around, frantically hoping to see her husband. Her eyes enlarged. There he stood, as perfect as ever. His hair tied in a ponytail. He, in his beautiful pose. She stood up and hurried to leap into his arms. He, nevertheless, brought his hand forward to stop her.

"Cissa, no! You will get cold."

She stopped. It was then that she realized that his skin was silvery and almost transparent. She felt herself sitting on the floor with an ungraceful 'thump'. Her Lucius was a ghost.

"Well I do not care," she said stubbornly when the shock had passed. "I do not care if you are a ghost. . ."

"Cissa."

". . . If you are going to stay with me. If you are still able to love me. . . "

"Cissa."

". . . Nothing has changed. Nothing . . ."

"Cissa, please stop."

His soft pleading made her stop. He seemed so sad and yet so determined. She clasped her chest when he spoke.

"I am not here to stay. I do not want to be an imprint of a departed soul. I want to move on. I am here to say goodbye."

Lucius stood still and watched her sad face. She gulped and her lips started moving, as if she tried to speak but the sound refused to escape her throat.

"It is over then," she finally spoke in a faint murmur, "After all those years it is over. No, you cannot leave me!" she exclaimed in horror.

"Cissa," Lucius exclaimed as her face shook in a mixture of grief and anger.

"DON'T YOU CISSA ME! TWENTY YEARS ARE A DROP IN THE OCEAN! IT IS TOO SOON! HOW WILL I BE ABLE TO LIVE WHEN THE PAIN TEARS MY HEART INTO PIECES? HOW CAN I LIVE WHEN THE PAIN OF DEPARTURE IS SO STRONG THAT IT DEVOURS MY SOUL?"

She remained silent. The 'tic-tac' of the grandfather-clock echoed in the room. The soul of Lucius Malfoy kneeled near his wife.

"I love you."

She did not respond. She remained motionless, white as snow, her eyes staring at the wall as if expecting a bunch of flowers to sprout from it.

"Cissa, please look at me. Talk to me. Don't talk of our love with those hollow eyes. Your silence hurts me even though I am dead."

Narcissa turned her head to face her husband. Lucius knew that if he was alive and had a body, she would have placed her head on his shoulder to seek comfort. She lowered her eyes to the floor.

"I simply cannot believe that you would say goodbye so easily. As if it is so simple as the planting of a Mandagora root. As if you have never loved me," she said in a hoarse whisper, not leaving her eyes from the floor.

"Oh Cissa, how can you say I don't love you. You are my angel. The one I cherished the most. Every move, even your slightest one wouldalways grasp my attention immediately. Do you remember the time I took you to 'Ophelia's Hill' to watch the sunrise together? The only thing I ever saw was the sunlight reflected on the locks of your golden hair. You were the most beautiful girl I ever saw. That moment I realized that the joy of being with you was so strong that it made me want to sob. For I became conscious that love made me something unique. Every time I was with you it caused me a pain so strong that it was unbearable and unimaginable. And yet – and yet the thought of being away from you even for a second made me hear my heart shuttering into pieces over and over again."

"Yet you already chose to leave."

"Nothing lasts forever Cissa. Do not seek for me to stay."

"If you go, I will lose you forever," she whispered.

"We still have all this wonderful memories. Our walks under the moonlight, our son's first steps and words; and even every one of those pecks on the cheek I gave you before going to work."

Silence covered the room. Lucius let his hand 'cover' hers.

"I will miss you so much," she said closing her eyes into slits.

"So do I. Cissa, every time you miss me so much that you feel your heart cannot take it anymore, remember that our common memories lie in our dreams. Seek me in your sleep and you will find me."

Lucius looked at the windows. A light downpour caused little strings of water to form on the glass.

"Goodbye Narcissa Black Malfoy. You were my love, my lover and my best friend. I was addicted to you. We shared the best childhood memories, the sweetest loving kisses, the most glorious golden dreams and the warmest bed. You have always been the one I will die for. Always remember that. However idealistic I was, you and Draco have always been my first concern. I will wait for you and if we ever decide it; I will meet you again in another life."

He leaned forward and brushed his slivery lips against her and faded as the first light of a new day emerged to the world.

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Did you like it? What do you believe? Review, critique but do not flame me for my beliefs. 


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